LIFE SCRIPTS

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
James 1:19‭-‬20 NIV

James calls brethren to attention. He mentions three gestures which are key in a sober minded believer…quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. It’s interesting that speech and anger are put together as actions we should be slow in doing yet we must desire to be quick to listen instead. Speech plays a huge role in perpetuating anger. Most of the times, we are angered by what we hear. Others are angered by what they hear us say. But speech is not just mere words. At times, what the speakers intend to convey is not heard accurately by the hearers especially if the hearers have a certain expectation or perception of them. This is because often times, the hearers listen in order to respond but not with an open mind to receive what the speakers have to say. James reminds us the influence a quick listener has. Someone quick to listen is like the person who walks into an auditorium where a world renown speaker is about to speak. Her mind is open. She is expectant. She might even have carried a notebook to put some of the insights on pen and paper. Her expectations of the speaker are pure. If the speaker falters in something he is saying, she politely interjects or consults with them at the end of the talk to gain more understanding. That way, the speaker is willing to listen because somebody also was willing to listen intently to what they were saying. A quick listener is one who realizes that even the ones who seem wrong might also have a story to tell. At the end of their story, he might realize that probably circumstances pushed them to act in a certain way. A person who’s quick listener, one slow to speech and one slow to anger offends few and is loved by many because he is eagre to hear the story of others without judging them. He speaks only when he sees it right to speak. However, a person who’s quick to speak, quick to get angry and a poor listener sows seeds of discord. He already has a formed opinion even before listening to others. He exercises no patience. He builds up anger in himself and in others. Verse 20 reminds us that human anger does not produce righteousness that God desires. So we must desire to be slow in getting angry, slow to speech but quick to listen.